Tyrant
In gothic literature, a tyrant is a ruler of usually a castle or an estate. He excercises his power in cruel and unjust ways to get what he desires. He is usually harsh and quick to imprison people if he feels the urge to jail them. Characteristics The stereotypical tyrant is usually an older (but still potent) man of great wealth. He is generally very conservative and obsessed with upholding the patriarchal heirarchy. He can be well adjusted, for the most part, with people who he does not feel like entrapping but has one or many major flaws- usually greed or lust. He is usually unmarried or unhappily so, and lusts after a young heroine of sensibility. Once he catches and entraps her, he will resort to intimidation and deception to try to seduce her. Sometimes he will resort to more drastic actions to prove his potency (rape). In Fiction Castle of Otranto: the Castle of Otranto is a short novel by Horace Walpole in which there is a tyrant: Manfred. Manfred is the father of the household, is married, and has two children: one boy and one girl. When his son is crushed by a falling helmet, Manfred wishes to divorce his wife and marry Isabella (his recently deceased son's fiance). He intimidates church officials, divorces his wife, waves weapons around to try to get what he wants and; eventually, murders his own daughter thinking that it was Isabella. He pursues Isabella with the thought process that she is young and will bear him a male heir in which his line will be passed onto the next generation. He pursues her with intimidation, threats, and the bartering of life to try to apprehend her and force her to marry him. He eventually realizes the error of his ways and retires to a monastary. Mysteries of Udolpho: the Mysteries of Udolpho is a novel by Ann Radcliffe where there is a tyrant named Count Morano. There is a secondary gothic villain/tyrant named Montoni. Together they kidnap and Morano tries to marry Emily (the main heroine) to Montoni. Montoni marries Madame Cheron to gain her estate and fortune. When he does that he imprisons Cheron and Emily (who was under Cheron's care). Morano wants to marry Emily (forcefully if necessary). Montoni is behind this at first but then learns that Morano does not have as much money as previously assumed. Montoni then removes his support Morano. Morano then tries to abduct Emily twice. Both of which fail. Emily later escapes the castle with DuPont and lives happily ever after with Valancourt. The Monk: The Monk is a novel by Matthew Lewis detailing the adventures of a young man (named Ambrosio) who was dropped off in a monastary at a young age. While there, he is never tempted with vice or sin and is innocent. Through countless manipulations by the Devil and his agents, Ambrosio becomes tainted and takes and rapes what he wants. His main target is Antonia. He chases her after seeing a bird land on her bosom eventually drugs her (with the help of Matilda) and takes her to a tomb. There he forces himself upon her, and her virginity and virtue are ruined. Fearing that she would tell other people and he would be punished for his actions, he stabs her and she dies. At the end of the novel, Satan tells Ambrosio that Antonia was actually his sister and that he had commited incest and fratricide. Then Ambrosio dies after seven days in the sun of the canyon he was dropped in to. Trivia -In the 1300's, tyrant meant absolute ruler but had no negative connotations associated with it. It gained it's negative meaning in the 1500's. Also, it gained those negative characteristics in France Category:Miscellaneous